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Just wanted to add my thoughts on Kioku... it's freakin' awesome, love it. I have an ever expanding collection of Outlaw products, and this is definitely one of the most commercial... yet still "alternative" (it is Outlaw after all!) - I carry it in my wallet and think it works best when completely impromptu, like when requested to show someone a trick in the pub - not quite what they were probably expecting!

I also want to add a few words about the service from Rick. Whilst his products do take a while to make and ship, he's always been great on email and very helpful answering all my questions. He's running a one-man show, does not compromise on quality and is passionate about what he does... and that's why I keep buying from him!

The Outlaw forums are great too, there really seems to be an Outlaw "family" of customers.

If you like Kioku type effects, I would also recommend checking out The Teller...

Just starting working with Duel... next up, Witches and Showdown

Another effect to think about - if you like this one - is

HoroSecrets by Joel Dickinson and Adam Hudson

Agreed, a very nice effect although I've not used it very much since buying it from Tom Lauton last year.

So, im just about to buy this,

BUT just how easy is it to perform? and is it worth the £12 asking price? (It sounds like a VERY small amount for such a big effect)

thanks

£12 is a bargain for this effect. You'll be up and running with it in no time. Very easy to "do" - but it's ALL in the presentation if you want to "perform" it to its full potential. There's also excellent opportunity to include numerous subtleties within Kioku to really shock.

I thought I should jump in on this: Kioku is an absolute killer. Present it as a real test, not as a magic trick, and it will fry.

Hiya. Kioku is an excellent effect, I use it all the time. I have adapted it slightly by making my own cards with some different memories on the cards. I have also removed one of the memories which appears on each of the cards, as this has been noted in some performances which I believe then can imply the method.

Annemann 'Horrors' - can be adapted for a whole range of things...even Elizabethan scholar magicians

Just got this a couple of weeks ago, genius! Currently working up a bit of patter around sinister post-war studies into thought transference, conducted by unethical government scientists. I reckon this deserves to play as grim and as sinister as possible!

Has anybody out there who uses Kioku come up with any interesting alternatives to the "signalling" (hopefully I'm not stepping over any lines... but also makes sense to those who have it?!)

G

I just ordered Kioku....I can't wait!

I it just me or does the structure of the whole routine seem a little too contrived?

Would it not be better to have 12-15 business cards with one of the memories written on the back of each individual card and have them in a stack.That way you will know which one was chosen and can reveal it without out the ''close your eyes'' fishing nonsense?

Flood wrote:I it just me or does the structure of the whole routine seem a little too contrived?

Would it not be better to have 12-15 business cards with one of the memories written on the back of each individual card and have them in a stack.That way you will know which one was chosen and can reveal it without out the ''close your eyes'' fishing nonsense?

Well, you certainly could do, but one of the best things about Kioku is that it's thin enough to pack into the fullest of wallets and, to be fair, I've never had any spec question the 'look at me if you see your memory' direction.

That said, I do prefer to use Outlaw's 'Reflections' version of this, as the whole routine's just more satisfying, and makes more narrative sense


Rob

I realise I'm late to the party on this effect, but I just thought I'd share a patter idea for 'Reflections', also applicable to 'Kioku', from Daniel Goleman's book "Emotional Intelligence":

"The brain uses a simple but cunning method to make emotional memories register with special potency: the very same neurochemical alerting systems that prime the body to react to life-threatening emergencies by fighting or fleeing also stamp the moment in memory with vividness.

...

The amygdala is the main site in the brain where these signals go; they activate neurons in the amygdala to signal other brain regions to strenghten memory for what is happening.

This amygdala arousal seems to imprint in memory most moments of emotional arousal with an added degree of strength - that's why we're more likely, for example, to remember where we went on a first date, or what we were doing when we heard the space shuttle Challenger had exploded. The more intense the amygdala arousal, the stronger the imprint; the experiences that scare or thrill us the most in life are among our most indelible memories.

This means that, in effect, our brain has two memory systems, one for ordinary facts and one for emotionally charged ones."

For those that like a bit of genuine science in the mix.

I have to say, I'm pretty much completely new to magic, but this is absolutely amazing. I've had many people in shock at how I've read their minds. As it's already been said, it's all in the performance, if you do it quick and get it over and done with, it has less of an effect, you need to drag it out, a fair bit after you've actually gathered what their memory is.

Yes, there have been occasions when people have said that it must be something to do with the memories being on some cards but not others, but that's only because I wasn't performing it well enough.

I'd just like to describe the routine I've created, it requires an assistant (in my case, my cousin):

I (the magician), leave the room (or whatever, I could just be blindfolded and face the other way), the assistant then conducts the whole routine, and really really drags it past the point when they know the memory. Then, and here's the trick, I'm called back over, and whilst I'm walking back, my assistant delivers a very subtle body language cue that is associated with the memory (so it'll be a different cue assigned to every memory, just simple things like itching the nose or licking the lips, totally casual, all the focus will be on me walking towards them so no one will notice). Then, I either ask the assistant to leave, or just leave them there but with no input. Also note that the cards can be completely taken away at this point, like, the spectator can switch and move them at the start (me not present), then they can be placed in the spectators pocket before I arrive or turn around.

Obviously I know the memory by the cue my assistant has subtly given me. Now I just run a little routine filled with gibberish, then reveal the memory to their astonishment. How could I possibly know the memory having not been involved or witnessed any of it?

I'd like to reiterate, this is simply fantastic, a little gem. Also, I was Just wondering, seeing that I like this, what other Outlaw effects are there that are just as good (if not better) than this? I want more mind reading effects